Russian authorities announce new restrictions on migrant workers almost every week. For whose benefit is this work? What could be its essence and ultimate purpose?
Life under control
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia proposes new standards in the field of labor migration – a controlled life system. In this case, Russian news stations reported on November 28. These new rules are proposed for foreign citizens who do not have a reason to stay in Russia or who provide false information when entering the country.
If the law is passed, persons who are in the territory of Russia without a reason will be deprived of the right to state registration, sole proprietorship, acquisition of movable and immovable property, opening a bank account, marriage registration, money transfer, driving a car, etc.
Extensive business?
The draft law is only part of the work that has been underway in Russia since the spring of this year. Since then, migrants have been detained in mosques, sports clubs, construction sites and places of gathering of people. The anti-immigrant crackdown is accompanied by an extensive information campaign involving politicians of all levels, prominent figures and athletes.
Some examples:
Valery Fadeev, head of the Human Rights Council, suggested that children who do not speak Russian should not be admitted to schools;
Kiril Kabanov, the head of the Anti-corruption Committee, wants to regulate the behavior of immigrants in social places;
Alexei Zhuravlev, the first deputy of the Defense Committee of the State Duma, suggested that those with Russian passports should be forced into military service;
Mikhail Matveev, State Duma deputy from the Communist Party of Russia, proposed creating “Tajik regiments (battalions)” and sending them to fight in Ukraine. He is also involved in several anti-immigrant actions.
Sergey Mironov , the head of the “Just Russia” party, said that a visa system should be introduced with all the countries of Central Asia. This Russian politician also wants to hold the families of immigrants who have violated the laws of Russia to collective responsibility.
The Russian Bishop (Patriarch) Kiril also fully participates in this anti-immigration wave. According to him, uncontrolled immigration is a threat to Russian culture and tradition.
Information platforms
National news stations such as ” Tsargrad ” actively participate in the anti-immigration campaign . More than a hundred anti-immigrant articles have been published on its website. Also, the ” Multinational ” Telegram page actively publishes far-right posts. It is interesting that xenophobic articles are broadcast along with videos that ordinary citizens do not have access to because of the winner.
The movement called “Russian Society” makes a special contribution to the anti-immigrant wave, presenting itself as the custodian of Russian traditions. However, in practice it appears during Russian police attacks on immigrants. It also helps the representatives of this movement in finding, arresting and sanctioning their shops.
What is stress motivation?
Renat Karimov, head of the Union of Migrant Workers, emphasizes that this anti-immigrant process is taking place against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine and the will of Russian citizens. “They want immigrants with Russian passports to sympathize with them on the issue of the war in Ukraine. That’s why politicians, party leaders and other people under the pressure of social opinion take such initiatives from time to time and think that this is the situation in the field. improves migration,” says Karimov.
Russian authorities call such action a preventive measure. According to them, this action is being implemented against the background of increasing crime among immigrants. According to the Russian law enforcement agencies, in the first half of 2023, foreign citizens committed 22,400 crimes on the territory of Russia, which is 6.3 percent more than last year. However, at the moment, the crime committed by immigrants from the CIS countries is less than 2 percent (983.7 thousand crimes) of all crimes committed in Russia.
Karim Aliyev, an expert on migration issues, says that Russia’s law enforcement agencies are creating an atmosphere of fear among migrants against the background of reducing their military forces in Ukraine. “This is a kind of prevention of possible negative events for the authorities and the government,” says Aliyev.
Will all this work become law?
According to the historian and migration expert Sergey Abashin, not all the anti-immigrant statements are changed into law, but they are said to create an anti-immigration atmosphere.
“There have been similar positions among the political elite in the past, but they have been offset by the economic sector because the economy is tied to attracting immigrants. In addition, law enforcement and liberal activists who want to regulate immigration have also prevented the passage of such laws. However, in recent years, conservative ideology has gained strength in Russia, and the liberal segment has practically been excluded from the decision-making spheres. The influence of businessmen has also decreased. Now we see that people with conservative and nationalist views have the upper hand in the political arena. Legislation has more access,” says Abashin.
He could not say anything about whether the Russian immigration restrictions will actually be included in the legislation. According to the fact that the Russian economy needs labor, there is a need to protect relations with labor exporting countries, as well as to attract them to the military arena.
Source : Радио Озоди
